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'{{BLP sources|date=April 2014}} {{Infobox Politician | honorific-prefix = [[The Honourable]] | image = Sampson Nanton interviews former Prime Minister of the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago, Basdeo Panday in 1997.jpg | imagesize = | name = Basdeo Panday | caption = Sampson Nanton interviews former [[Prime Minister of the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago]], Basdeo Panday in 1997. | office =[[List of Prime Ministers of Trinidad and Tobago|5th Prime Minister of Trinidad and Tobago]] | term_start3 = 9 November 1995 | term_end3 = 11 December 2000 | president3 = [[Noor Hassanali]] <br> [[A. N. R. Robinson]] | predecessor3 = [[Patrick Manning]] | successor3 = Himself | term_start2 = 12 December 2000 | term_end2 = 24 January 2001 | predecessor2 = Himself | successor2 = Himself | president2 = [[A. N. R. Robinson]] | term_start = 25 January 2001 | term_end = 24 December 2001 | predecessor = Himself | successor = [[Patrick Manning]] | office4 = Political Leader <br/> [[United National Congress]] | term_start4 =10 September 2006 | term_end4 = 24 January 2010 | predecessor4 = [[Winston Dookeran]] | successor4 = [[Kamla Persad-Bissessar]] | term_start5 = 16 October 1988 | term_end5 = 2 October 2005 | predecessor5 = Inaugural holder | successor5 = [[Winston Dookeran]] | office6 = [[Minister of Foreign Affairs (Trinidad and Tobago)|Minister of Foreign Affairs]] | term_start6 = 28 November 1987 | term_end6 = 8 February 1988 | predecessor6 = Himself | successor6 = Sahadeo Basdeo | term_start7 = 12 January 1987 | term_end7 = 27 November 1987 | predecessor7 = Errol Mahabir | successor7 = Himself | office8 = [[Leader of the Opposition (Trinidad and Tobago)|Leader of the Opposition]] | term_start14 = 1976 | term_end14 = 1977 | predecessor14 = John R. F. Richardson | successor14 = [[Raffique Shah]] | term_start13 = 1976 | term_end13 = 18 September 1981 | predecessor13 = [[Raffique Shah]] | successor13 = Himself | term_start12 = 27 November 1981 | term_end12 = 29 October 1986 | predecessor12 = Himself | successor12 = [[Patrick Manning]] | term_start11 = 10 September 1990 | term_end11 = 19 November 1991 | predecessor11 = [[Patrick Manning]] | successor11 = Himself | term_start10 = 23 December 1991 | term_end10 = 8 November 1995 | predecessor10 = Himself | successor10 = [[Patrick Manning]] | term_start9 = 17 October 2002 | term_end9 = 23 April 2006 | predecessor9 = [[Patrick Manning]] | successor9 = [[Kamla Persad-Bissessar]] | term_start8 = 17 December 2007 | term_end8 = 24 February 2010 | predecessor8 = [[Kamla Persad-Bissessar]] | successor8 = [[Kamla Persad-Bissessar]] | office15 = [[Member of Parliament]]<br>for [[Couva]] North | term_start18 = 24 September 1976 | term_end18 = 18 September 1981 | term_start17 = 9 February 1988 | term_end17 = 9 September 1990 | term_start16 = 5 April 2002 | term_end16 = 28 August 2002 | term_start15 = 25 February 2010 | term_end15 = 8 April 2010 | office19 = Minister of National Seurity | term_start19 = 25 January 2001 | term_end19 = 24 December 2001 | birth_date = {{Birth date and age|df=yes|1933|05|25}} | birth_place = [[Princes Town]], [[Trinidad and Tobago]] | parents = Harry "Chote" Sookchand<br>Kissondaye Panday | party = [[Workers and Farmers Party]]<br>[[United Labour Front]]<br>[[National Alliance for Reconstruction]]<br>[[United National Congress]](1989-prseant) | education = [[University of London]] | spouse = Norma Mohammed (died 1981)<BR> Oma Ramkisson | children = Mickela Panday<br>Nicola Panday<br>Vastala Panday<br>Niala Panday | relatives = Joseph Hardath Dube (grand uncle)<br>Rabindranath Panday (brother)<br>Subhas Panday (brother)<Br> Leela Panday (sister) | residence = [[San Fernando, Trinidad and Tobago]] | occupation = [[Lawyer]]<br>[[Politician]]<Br>[[Actor]] | religion = [[Hinduism]] | signature = | website = | footnotes = }} '''Basdeo Panday''' (born May 25, 1933) was the fifth [[List of Prime Ministers of Trinidad and Tobago|Prime Minister of Trinidad and Tobago]] from 1995 to 2001; he also served as [[Opposition (parliamentary)|Leader of the Opposition]] from 1976&ndash;1977, 1978&ndash;1986, 1989&ndash;1995, 2001&ndash;2006 and 2007&ndash;2010. He was first elected to [[Parliament]] in 1976 as the [[Member of Parliament|Member]] for [[Couva]] North. He is the former Chairman and party leader of the [[Parliamentary opposition|Opposition]] [[United National Congress]]. In 2006, Panday was [[Basdeo Panday#Legal problems|convicted]] of failing to declare a bank account in London and imprisoned but as of March 20, 2007, that [[Basdeo Panday#Legal problems|conviction]] has been quashed by the Court of Appeal. He was granted bail on April 28 pending the outcome of his appeal due to his health condition and the poor state of health facilities at the Arouca prison. On May 1 he decided to resign as Chairman of the [[United National Congress]], but the party's executive refuse to accept his resignation. However, he lost the party's internal elections on January 24, 2010 to Deputy Leader and current Prime Minister Kamla Persad-Bissessar by a large margin. Basdeo Panday is married to Oma Panday née Ramkissoon and has four daughters Niala, Mickela, Nicola, and Vastala, one from his first marriage to Norma Panday née Mohammed who died in 1981. In 2006, he was awarded the [[Pravasi Bharatiya Samman]] by the [[Government of India|Ministry of Overseas Indian Affairs]]. ==Early life== He was born in [[Princes Town]], Trinidad,<ref>{{cite web|title=Basdeo Panday|url=http://www.ttparliament.org/members.php?mid=26&pid=5&id=BPA01|work=Members of Past Parliaments|publisher=Parliament of the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago|accessdate=29 April 2014}}</ref> to Harry "Chote" Sookchand and Kissoondaye Panday, who were both first-generation [[Indentured labourers|East Indian Arrivants]] to Trinidad. Kissondaye's mother, along with her mother, came on the trip via Fiji (they had missed the boat going back to Fiji, so they took the one to Trinidad instead). Sookchand's Uncle, Joseph Hardath Dube was the General Secretary of the [[East Indian National Association]], and was responsible for enrolling Panday in [[Presentation College, San Fernando]]. Before the college enrollment, Basdeo attended New Grant Government and St. Julien C.M. School.{{citation needed|date=June 2016}} In 1957 he was accepted into [[Lincoln's Inn]], London (Law), the [[University of London]] (Economics) and [[London School of Dramatic Art]] (Drama). Whilst in England, Panday worked as a labourer on a building site, a clerk at the [[London|London County Council]] and an electrician in order to sustain himself through [[University]]. Prior to studying and working in London, he worked as a sugar cane weigher for a year at [[Caroni Ltd.]], a primary school teacher at Seereram Memorial Vedic, Chaguanas, St Clement Vedic, Barrackpore and as a civil servant at the [[San Fernando, Trinidad and Tobago|San Fernando]] Magistracy, where he took notes for Magistrates Churchill Johnston and former [[President]] of [[Trinidad and Tobago]], [[Noor Hassanali]].{{citation needed|date=June 2016}} He was also an actor and played small parts in several films, most notably "[[Man in the Middle (film)|Man in The Middle]]", with [[Robert Mitchum]]. He also performed on the London stage in several plays, one being "The Bird Of Time" in 1961.{{citation needed|date=June 2016}} In 1965, Panday was awarded a [[Commonwealth of Nations|Commonwealth]] scholarship to pursue a postgraduate degree in [[economics]] and [[political science]] at the [[Delhi School of Economics]] in India. He postponed the scholarship and returned home to practise [[law]] in [[San Fernando, Trinidad and Tobago|Trinidad]] because of family commitments and the changing political situation in Trinidad.{{citation needed|date=June 2016}} ==Political career== {{BLP unsourced section|date=June 2016}} Upon his return to Trinidad, he entered politics and ran unsuccessfully for [[House of Representatives of Trinidad and Tobago|Parliament]] as a candidate for the [[Workers and Farmers Party]] in 1966. His most prominent debut into local politics was as early as 1973, when he forayed into the politics of one of the most prominent unions of the day, the [[Trinidad Islandwide Cane Farmers' Association]] (TICFA). He faced antagonism from the then leader of the [[Sanatan Dharma Maha Sabha]], [[Bhadase Maraj|Bhadase Sagan Maraj]] and the leader of the Union, Mr. Rampartapsingh, who had succeeded Mr. Maraj. These were the favourites of the then Prime Minister, [[Eric Williams]], for he was concerned about the "left-wing radicalisation" of the union membership. It was in this context that Basdeo Panday came to the fore. Basdeo Panday was able, through backdoor negotiations with the then union leader of TICFA, and then subsequently with the then Prime Minister, Eric Williams concerning the wages and salaries of sugarcane workers, to claim control over the union as the undisputed leader of TICFA. In May 1973, he became the President General of All Trinidad Sugar and General Workers' Trade Union. In 1975, he spent two weeks at the Golden Grove Prison for leading a march with [[trade union]]ists which was deemed illegal. Basdeo Panday's ambitions did not stop there. Exploiting the fractural divisiveness that existed within the then opposition of the [[Democratic Labour Party (Trinidad and Tobago)|Democratic Labour Party]], Panday formed an alliance with other union members, [[George Weekes]] and [[Raffique Shah]]. The three formed the [[United Labour Front]] and in 1981&ndash;1986, he was the Opposition Leader. He co-founded the National Alliance (with [[A. N. R. Robinson]] [[Political leader]] of the [[Democratic Action Congress]], [[Lloyd Best]] of the [[Tapia House Group]], to fight the 1981 elections, and later co-founded the [[National Alliance for Reconstruction]] with Robinson and [[Karl Hudson-Phillips]] Political Leader of the [[Organisation for National Reconstruction]]. Following a convincing electoral victory in 1986 he was made [[Minister of External Affairs and International Trade]]. Panday acted as Prime Minister in 1987 while Robinson was out of the country. In 1988, Panday, along with [[Kelvin Ramnath]], [[John Humphrey (politician)|John Humphrey]] and [[Trevor Sudama]] were expelled from the party after a disagreement with Robinson. It was claimed by them at the time by them all that Robinson was high-handed and authoritarian concerning with dealing with them and decision. He then founded the ''Club for Love, Unity and Brotherhood'' (CLUB 88) which became the [[United National Congress]]. In 1992 their candidates won more seats in that year's election than the then NAR. On such a basis, the members of what was to become the UNC, argued this in parliament to become the opposition members (newcomer [[Hulsie Bhaggan]] defeated political heavyweight [[Winston Dookeran]] for the [[Chaguanas]] seat), but the party only won 13 of 36 seats nationally. It improved this margin to 17 in the [[Elections in Trinidad and Tobago#1991 General Elections|1995 General Elections]]. It could not form the majority in parliament to form the [[Cabinet (government)|Cabinet]], so, with the support of the two seats held by Robinson and the NAR, Panday was appointed the country's first Indo-Trinidadian and the first Hindu Prime Minister. A.N.R. Robinson became the first Tobagonian to become president. Under the leadership of Mr. Panday the UNC went on to win the 2000 election but internal strife in the party forced another election in 2001 which resulted in a tie between the UNC and the PNM. That December, President A.N.R. Robinson awarded the PNM the post of Government of Trinidad and Tobago. This was a travesty of justice and the most deliberate constitutional error in Trinidad and Tobago. This mistake was an act of shame for the country It must be noted that it was Basdeo Panday who was responsible for making ANR Robinson both the President and Prime Minister of Trinidad and Tobago. ANR Robinson accepted both positions, but was always antagonistic and very ungrateful to Mr. Panday. <ref>Trinidad Guardian</ref> ==Legal problems== On May 31, 2005, Panday, together with his wife, Oma and former [[United National Congress|UNC]] MP Carlos John and businessman Ishwar Galbaransingh (chairman of Northern Construction Limited) were arrested on corruption charges. The State alleged that the Pandays had received TT$250,000 on December 30, 1998 from John and Galbaransingh in exchange for giving Northern Construction a construction contract for the [[Piarco International Airport|Piarco Airport]] Development Project (PADP). Panday refused bail and chose to remain in prison for a short while. Panday, Mrs. Panday and John were placed on TT$750,000 bail, while Galbaransingh was placed on a $1,000,000. This was called a punitive bail both by supporters of the [[United National Congress|UNC]] and by former [[Attorney General]] [[Ramesh Maharaj]], a sometime political opponent of Panday. On June 7, 2005, bail was reduced to TT$650,000. A day later, Panday accepted bail after being jailed for over a week. Ironically, the evidence for the charges laid against him was the product of two administrations, one of which was Panday's, and, in this administration, the evidence of the charges was due to investigations done by a U.S. private investigator hired by the Ministry of legal affairs when Basdeo Panday was Prime Minister.The law's amendment, under which Basdeo Panday was charged, also was a product of the Basdeo Panday administration. On March 20, 2007, the Court of Appeal quashed the conviction against Panday for failing to declare a London bank account, based on the possibility that he may not have received a fair trial.<ref>{{cite news|last=Loutoo |first=Jada |title=Appeal Court quashes Panday’s conviction |publisher=Trinidad Publishing Company Limited |date=2007-03-21 |url=http://guardian.co.tt/archives/2007-03-21/news8.html |accessdate=2007-03-27 |deadurl=yes |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/20070926231715/http://guardian.co.tt/archives/2007-03-21/news8.html |archivedate=September 26, 2007 }}</ref> The three Court of Appeal judges agreed that there was in fact a real possibility of bias by Chief Magistrate Sherman McNicolls in his April 24, 2006 ruling, which found Panday guilty on three counts of failing to declare a London bank account to the Integrity Commission for the years 1997, 1998 and 1999, respectively, contrary to Section 27 (1)(b) of the Integrity in Public Life Act 1987.<ref>{{cite news | last =Cummings | first =Stephen | title =Trinidad's opposition leader set to go on trial | publisher =Caribbean Net News | date =2006-01-16| url =http://www.caribbeannetnews.com/2006/01/16/trial.shtml| accessdate = 2007-02-19 }}</ref> Information that surfaced later on, linked Chief Magistrate McNicolls to a multimillion-dollar land deal and a company associated with one of the main witnesses in the Basdeo Panday trial.<ref>{{cite news|last=Bahaw |first=Darren |title=Panday seeks bias ruling against McNicolls |publisher=Trinidad & Tobago Express |date=2007-03-14 |url=http://www.trinidadexpress.com/index.pl/article?id=161115937 |accessdate=2007-03-15 |deadurl=yes |archiveurl=http://web.archive.org/web/20071019050407/http://www.trinidadexpress.com/index.pl/article?id=161115937 |archivedate=October 19, 2007 }}</ref> This information, along with the fact that Chief Magistrate McNicolls refused to give evidence for the criminal prosecution of the Chief Justice, which caused that prosecution to fail, were the main arguments used by Panday's lawyers in his Appeal Court hearing. ==2005&ndash;2010== [[File:Basdeo Panday (3055133736).jpg|thumb|upright|Basdeo Panday and the Ambassador of Finland]] In September, 2005, Panday nominated Winston Dookeran (current leader of the Congress of the People) as his successor as political leader. Panday himself was nominated for the party Chairmanship. On October 2, 2005 both Panday and Dookeran won their posts unopposed (see [[United National Congress]]). Since appointing Dookeran to succeed him, the UNC has been divided, with many members calling for Panday to hand over power absolutely to Dookeran in the form of the Leader of the Opposition. Panday failed to do so, and with the Opposition MPs split 8-8 on the issue, Panday has remained as the leader of the Opposition. In February 2006, Panday invited estranged former Attorney General, Ramesh Lawerence Maharaj back into the UNC. This led to divided opinion inside and outside the UNC and saw the revocation, by Panday, of the appointment of Senator Robin Montano, a vocal opponent to the return of Maharaj. Following this came the resignation from the Senate of Roy Augustus. Panday replaced Montano with Dr. Tim Gopeesingh, a loyalist and CEO of the UNC and Augustus with former Trinidad and Tobago sprint star [[Ato Boldon]]. Boldon stated that he was first invited to become a senator by FIFA Vice-President and Deputy Political Leader of the UNC, [[Austin "Jack" Warner]]. Now in the twilight of his political career, he was re-called as co- leader of the United National Congress (Then United National Congress-Alliance)with Austin "Jack" Warner after unsuccessfully contesting the elections. In 2007, the UNC Alliance lost in the general elections. Many critics blamed the newly formed party Congress of the People of 'splitting the vote'. In a move that sparked controversy, Basdeo Panday was suspended from parliament in April because he was not sure if he was going to use his laptop computer during a debate. When asked by speaker of the house if he intended on using the laptop for the debate, Mr Panday replied "I do not know." Panday argued that in a debate, one is never sure if they will speak and if they would need the use of a laptop. The speaker created more controversy when he announced the next day that Panday would be suspended till December. Since early 2009 Basdeo Panday was challenged for the leadership of the party by a small coalition of Opposition MPs led by the party's deputy political leader, [[Austin "Jack" Warner]] and Ramesh Lawrence Maharaj<ref>{{cite news|last=Ramdass |first=Anna |title=Ramesh gets a chance:UNC MPs vote to fire Chief Whip, but Bas wants him to explain behaviour |publisher=One Caribbean Media Limited |date=2009-03-26 |url=http://www.trinidadexpress.com/index.pl/article_news?id=161457491 |accessdate=2009-03-26 |deadurl=yes |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/20090327025148/http://www.trinidadexpress.com:80/index.pl/article_news?id=161457491 |archivedate=March 27, 2009 }}</ref> informally known as "RamJack G". Jack Warner is also taking Panday to court over Panday's allegations that Warner is a drug lord.<ref>{{cite news | last =com | first =ttgapers | title =Jack Warner taking Basdeo Panday to court | publisher =ttgapers.com | date =2009-08-16| url =http://www.ttgapers.com/News/2009/8/16/jack-warner-taking-basdeo-panday-to-court/| accessdate = 2009-08-16 }}</ref> Many citizens continually scoff at Jack Warner and Ramesh Lawerence Maharaj and have branded them as traitors. In fact Jack Warner is viewed as very crooked owing to his business transactions involving FIFA, and the misappropiation of funds entrusted to him by various football federations. At this time, there is a court case in Trinidad where Warner is facing extradition proceedings from the United States Office of the Attorney General. <ref>Trinidad Express</ref> ==2010&ndash;present== {{BLP unsourced section|date=June 2016}} On January 24, 2010 Basdeo Panday lost in his bid to be elected Political Leader of the [[United National Congress]] once again. He suffered a defeat at the hands of new Political Leader [[Kamla Persad-Bissessar]]. He did not contest the post of chairman hence he no longer sits on the executive of the United National Congress. On 25 February 2010 President [[George Maxwell Richards]] revoked the appointment of Panday as Leader of the Opposition and replaced him with Persad-Bissessar after the majority of Opposition MPs indicated their support for her. Panday did not participate in the general elections held on May 24, 2010 and hence his term as a Member of Parliament ended. Today, Mr. Panday serves as the Chief Administrator of the Basdeo Panday Foundation, a charitable organization which is situated in the Reinzi Complex, in the town in Couva. He is also writing is memoirs and is often called upon by the media to comment on national and Caribbean events and politics. All in all, he lives a very serene lifestyle today. ==See also== *[[Pravasi Bharatiya Samman]] *[[Pravasi Bharatiya Divas]] ==References== <references/> ==External links== *[http://www.nalis.gov.tt/govbios/BasdeoPanday.htm NALIS Biography of Basdeo Panday] *[http://www.unc.org.tt Official Website of the United National Congress] {{s-start}} {{succession box | before=[[Patrick Manning]] | title=[[List of Prime Ministers of Trinidad and Tobago|Prime Minister of Trinidad and Tobago]] | years=1995&ndash;2001 | after=[[Patrick Manning]]}} {{s-end}} {{s-start}} {{succession box | before=[[Roy Richardson]] | title=[[Opposition (parliamentary)|Leader of the Opposition]] of Trinidad and Tobago | years=1976&ndash;1977 | after=[[Raffique Shah]]}} {{succession box | before=[[Raffique Shah]] | title=Leader of the Opposition of Trinidad and Tobago | years=1978&ndash;1986 | after=[[Patrick Manning]]}} {{succession box | before=[[Patrick Manning]] | title=Leader of the Opposition of Trinidad and Tobago | years=1991&ndash;1995 | after=[[Patrick Manning]]}} {{succession box | before=[[Patrick Manning]] | title=Leader of the Opposition of Trinidad and Tobago | years=2001&ndash;2006 | after=[[Kamla Persad-Bissessar]]}} {{succession box | before=[[Kamla Persad-Bissessar]] | title=Leader of the Opposition of Trinidad and Tobago | years=2007&ndash;2010 | after=[[Kamla Persad-Bissessar]]}} {{s-end}} {{s-start}} {{succession box | before= Non-existent | title=Political Leader of the [[United National Congress]] | years=1989&ndash;2005 | after= [[Winston Dookeran]]}} {{succession box | before=[[Winston Dookeran]] | title=Political Leader of the [[United National Congress]] | years=2006&ndash;2010 | after= [[Kamla Persad-Bissessar]]}} {{s-end}} {{Prime Ministers of Trinidad and Tobago}} {{Authority control}} {{DEFAULTSORT:Panday, Basdeo}} [[Category:Prime Ministers of Trinidad and Tobago]] [[Category:Trinidad and Tobago trade unionists]] [[Category:1933 births]] [[Category:Hindavi people]] [[Category:Members of the House of Representatives (Trinidad and Tobago)]] [[Category:Trinidad and Tobago lawyers]] [[Category:Living people]] [[Category:Trinidad and Tobago Hindus]] [[Category:Trinidad and Tobago politicians of Indian descent]] [[Category:Alumni of the University of London]] [[Category:United National Congress politicians]] [[Category:United Labour Front politicians]] [[Category:Workers and Farmers Party politicians]] [[Category:People from Princes Town Regional Corporation]]'